1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an electronic means by which people can select the exact seat or seats they want for any type of event or reserve an appointment for any activity such as a doctor or dentist appointment or even an appointment to have their car lubed. More specifically, a customer or a ticket re-seller or a venue operator can go, for example, to the internet and select the event or activity for which they want a ticket or tickets or reserve a time and reserve and order the exact seat or seats or the time of their choosing directly online. The seat or seats or reserved time they select is then removed from the inventory for that activity or event and made not available for any other buyer and such is so indicated by a graphical representation or other such indicator on the online map or picture representing availability of seating or time for that event. For an appointment reservation, the user connects to the internet or other wide area network, such as a bulletin board, from his home of office computer and connects to a page that displays a reservation calendar where he can interact such as to reserve a specific time period for himself.
In accordance with the present invention a remote location ticketing and reservation system for any venue comprises an internet or network compatible computer program constructed generally to afford access to a database, or other record maintained in electronic form, containing information about all sold and unsold seating for any specific venue or event and means and method by which a remote user, through use of a computer terminal or other such device, may access said database or other record and receive at his location through any computer terminal or other such device information about which specific seats remain available and then through a computer mouse or keyboard or other such input device select a specific seat or seats for that specific event and reserve such for himself for use during said event.
2. Prior Art
The inadequacies and inefficiencies of present ticketing and reservation systems are recognized and addressed through this invention. The rapid growth of the internet now makes it possible for anyone at his home or office to avail himself of the advantages of the instant invention through a simple internet or other wide area network connection.
Prior art makes a feeble attempt to address the inconvenience of ticket ordering. U.S. Pat. No. 5,797,126 (1988), Helbling, et al., describes a series of individual kiosks in wireless communication with a central station where a visitor can locate events of interest, view an excerpt of scenes from that venue and purchase tickets. This falls far short of the instant invention since it still requires a user to physically visit a remote site to avail himself of the service. Additionally, said prior art makes extensive use of what is called “kiosks” implying that, unlike the instant invention, it is only from his specialized machines that such services may be rendered.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,974,252 describes a more interactive theater attendance system where patrons are permitted two way communications between themselves and a broadcast center but this is still far from objectives of the instant invention and requires that persons be in attendance at the theater and, further some attendant be present at the remote broadcast center. The instant invention is fully automated and, other than the normal monitoring of any application for a wide area network, requires no human attendance or intervention.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,427,438 describes a ticket vending system where sales of tickets can be recorded on a seating layout but, again falls far short of the instantaneous update and automatic operation of the instant invention. U.S. Pat. No. 5,333,257 allows for a view from a seat but that is now common for internet applications where a hyperlink to any graphic is routinely provided and ancillary to and even unnecessary to the instant invention. Other prior art does nothing to make ticket ordering or seating reservations more readily available and does nothing to improve the information flow to prospective customers so that they may make a more informed decision about attending any given event.
Consider the traveler who has planned a vacation in, say, New York City and wants tickets for some Broadway show. Presently he has either to phone and accept someone else's definition of what constitutes “best available” or wait until he gets into town and seek out a scalper or reseller agency and he still isn't sure exactly what his seats offer.